UMHB CoB Argentina Trip December 2012

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Blog #3 – Comparative Thinking

I have observed some major differences between Argentina and the US, including gun use and ownership, protests, and marketing.

In the US, especially Texas, where I am from, gun ownership is a right that the people have great pride. All Americans now that this is a right we have to protect ourselves historically speaking from a repressive government. Although, few Americans misuse the power, we still believe in the right to bear arms. In the conversations with our tour guide, she has shown an explicit dislike for guns. She sees them as a weapon for killing other people. Additionally, people in Argentina have to go through rigorous exams, including sanity tests before they can even buy a gun, and most of them do not. I have not seen one gun shop yet. I believe that their value for life is why the Argentine’s look down on guns. I also believe that guns would be a huge problem in Argentina with all the riots that happen.

I mentioned the protests in my second post, but I want to bring it up again to reemphasize how often they occur. In the US, protests occur but not everyday on a large scale. Americans protest when the government tries to take away rights, however, Argentine’s protest daily to different decisions of the government. The government in the past has mistreated the Argentine people, and has caused the country’s economy to fail, especially in 2001. Therefore, the people do not trust the government to make the right decisions.

I want to touch on one-way Argentine’s market, by using semi-nude women on little sheets of paper. Generally, American look down on this kind of marketing, but in Buenos Aires, the streets are filled with them. The funny thing is that the pictures have nothing to do with what is being advertised. I believe that this kind of advertising is acceptable due to the countries European descent. The majority of the country is Spanish and Italian, in which both countries nudity is not as much frowned upon. There are many more differences between Argentina and the US, and hopefully I will be able to explain them in later posts.